Engineering News – Multinational independent power producer Building Energy on Wednesday said it could proceed with the construction of the 10 MW Tororo solar photovoltaic project ins Uganda, as it reached financial close with Dutch development bank FMO for $14.7-million.
Construction of the 14-GWh/y project started on December 14 and will last about seven months. The plant is majority owned by Building Energy, which will be responsible for its construction and operation and is also engineering, procurement and construction contractor and operation and maintenance contractor for this project.
Uganda has one of the lowest electricity consumption per capita in the world, with an average electrification rate of 18.2%. The country’s power sector suffered from a shortage of generating capacity and a lack of reliable and affordable electricity is hindering more sustainable economic growth.
Additionally, it will create 250 jobs during the construction phase. The solar plant will serve the equivalent of 36,200 people through generation and has an annual avoided greenhouse gas rate of 7,400 t carbon dioxide equivalent. It is the first Ugandan project promoted by the government in the renewable energy sector, developed under the KfW led GET FiT facility, which is a dedicated support scheme for renewable energy projects.
